Academy M: The Series
by Magnetrix
Summary: Teenaged runaway Marie only wanted a place to belong. When her new friend Logan brought her to the Xavier Institute, she thought he'd made a huge mistake. Between her annoying roommate, a creepy history teacher and a screwed up caste system within the student body, Marie wonders if she should have just stayed on the road.
1. Chapter 1

Academy M: The Series

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men or any related characters. Marvel Comics does.

AN: This story takes place in an alternate universe. Things are going to be very different. The characters we know and love are still there, but team rosters will change, histories will be rewritten and nobody will be wearing spandex. I hope you enjoy this fic and remember to review.

'indicates thought or telepathic communication.'

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Chapter 1: The Beginning

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"Hey kid," the trucker's gravelly voice jarred the girl from her sleep. "Yer stop is here."

"Hnnnn." She moaned, green eyes peering out from inside the hood covering her head.

Looking through the front window, she saw the city she was in. All it consisted of was a handful of ramshackle buildings that looked like a strong breeze could topple them. One of them had lights on inside and from the shadows in the windows, was probably the only place open at this time of night.

"Thought you were taking me to Laughlin City?" she said as she turned toward the trucker, her voice carrying a southern accent.

"This is Laughlin City," he replied scratching his chin.

"And I thought Caldicott County was a shit hole," she mumbled under her breath, casting another wary eye at the dump she managed to land herself in.

Opening the door, she began to climb out of the vehicle, grabbing her big black duffel bag off the floor.

"Thank you," she said.

And she was truly thankful. Not for the place, but for the ride and for that the fact that the fifty plus truck driver hadn't turned out to be a pervert. Not that he would have gotten far if he'd tried to make a pass at her. There was a reason why young Marie Raven left sunny Mississippi for the great white north. She was a mutant. A mutant who possessed the ability to absorb another person's memories, personality traits and mutant abilities through skin to skin contact. If she held on long enough, she could even kill that person.

As soon as she'd jumped off the truck, the driver pulled away causing dirty water to splash all over her calf-length overcoat. Marie shivered as she drew the coat closer to her body and ran to the building, which turned out to be a bar.

The moment she opened the doors, she was assaulted by the combined odours of cigarette smoke, alcohol, sweat, blood and God knew what else.

"Shoulda gone to New York after all," she muttered.

Looking around, her eyes fell upon the cage standing in the centre of the room. It appeared to be the main attraction for everyone in the place. Inside the cage were two men, who were trying their best to pound the living hell of each other.

As if drawn by an invisible force, Marie found herself wandering over to the cage. Once she was close enough, she was able to clearer picture, and it was then she saw him. He was standing with his back to her, having just knocked his opponent to the ground. It didn't look like the poor guy would be getting up any time soon as he was just lying there completely limp.

The man still standing was not that tall, but his muscle structure more than made up for his short stature. Dressed in nothing but a pair of tattered jeans, he was covered in blood. But as there didn't seem to be a scratch on him, Marie assumed it belonged to his opponent. His black hair stuck out in every direction, giving him a ferocious and intensely threatening look. It made Marie think of a wild animal.

Feeling something boring into her she looked up and her green eyes caught his blue ones. She suddenly felt the urge to take a few steps backward, as it seemed to her that his eyes were staring right into her soul.

The cage door opened with a loud clang drawing the man's attention away from her, causing her to let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Turning her own gaze toward the door, she watched as the announcer entered the cage.

"Gentlemen, in all my years, I've never seen anything like that. Are ya gonna let this man walk away with yer money?"

As Marie looked on, another man plodded to the cage. She smiled to herself. Somehow, she had a feeling he wouldn't be walking out of there.

"Whatever ya do," the announcer whispered loud enough for her to hear. "Don't hit him in the balls."

"Fuck off," the challenger said.

Meanwhile, the winner was lounging in his corner of the bar taking a shot of some kind of alcohol that the blond, heavyset, fortysomething waitress had handed him.

Cracking his neck, he turned and walked toward the centre of the cage where the announcer and challenger were waiting. As soon as the obligatory announcement was made, the announcer walked out and the two men began circling each other.

It was the challenger who made the first move. He aimed for the winner's groin, but barely missed and hit just below his belt buckle.

'Damn, if that ain't a death wish, I don't know what is.' Thought Marie.

The challenger went to throw the next punch, but the winner caught his fist and squeezed it as hard as he could.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaa!" the challenger's cry rang out.

And in a moment, the winner had laid him out with a good hard punch to the gut. The challenger, like his predecessor, fell to the floor with a resounding thud.

Moments later, the announcer and two other men entered the cage and the loser was carted out on a stretcher. Knowing that no one else was brave or stupid enough to challenge the winner, the announcer stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's winner and still king of the cage, the Wolverine."

'That name suits him.' Marie thought as she turned away from the cage.

Almost immediately the crowd started to thin. Now that the main attraction was over, most of the patrons were going home for the night. Though how they'd get there was a mystery. The majority of them were so drunk they could hardly walk.

Walking to the main counter, Marie dug into the pockets of her coat and pulled out what little money she had. One Canadian dollar plus change which she had snatched off the floor of the truck while the driver was getting her a burger. She frowned as she read the menu board and saw that the cheapest item was more than double than what she held in her gloved hand. Exhaling wearily, she asked for the only thing she knew she could afford.

"Can I get some water?"

"Want it on the rocks?" asked the pudgy bartender.

"Just plain," Marie replied.

As the bartender slid her glass of water across the counter, Marie couldn't prevent herself from looking at the large tip jar. She could certainly use some of that money. One dollar and some loose change wouldn't get her very far, and judging by some of the characters she saw in this place, she decided it was best not to ask one of the locals for a ride. She may be a dangerous mutant who could suck the life out of a person with just one touch, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, the bartender appeared to be a mind reader of sorts, because he suddenly grabbed the tip jar and moved it to the other end of the bar where she couldn't reach it.

'Well, there goes that idea.' Marie thought glumly as she sat down at the cleanest table she could find.

She slumped in her seat as she tried to figure out where to go from here. She had no money, hadn't eaten since lunch and hadn't slept well for the last week or so. She was beginning to realize that this was a really, really stupid idea. At least if she'd run off to a large city, she could pick the pockets of strangers, preferably the wealthier ones since they had tons of money anyway. She could use it to rent a cheap motel room. But in this dump? She doubted she could even find a park bench to crash on.

Marie was so deep in thought she didn't notice the Wolverine sit down in the chair across from her. Only when she looked up from her now empty glass did she see him. He now had a wad of cash in his hand which he was shoving into the pockets of his leather jacket. The thought of asking him for a few bucks did cross her mind, but she quickly pushed it away. She was not going to be so pathetic as to ask a complete stranger for money.

"Ya want something else, honey? Or are ya just stickin' with the water?"

The bartender's irritating, scratchy voice interrupted Marie's wallowing.

"I'm fine, thanks," said Marie tonelessly.

Suddenly, the Wolverine's latest challenger came trudging in from who knew where accompanied by a friend. Both were piss drunk and judging by their expressions, looking for a fight.

"Hey," he barked at the Wolverine. "You got somethin' that belongs to me."

"Don't know what the hell yer talkin' about," the Wolverine replied.

The man approached the Wolverine.

"I know what you are," the man said. "Nobody comes out of a fight and doesn't have anything to show for it. Now give me my money back."

"You keep this up, bub, you're gonna lose somethin' else," warned the Wolverine.

The next moment all hell broke loose. The man produced a rather nasty-looking knife and lunged at Wolverine.

"Watch out!" Marie cried instinctively, but there was no need for her warning, as Wolverine sprang into action.

He had literally pinned the man to one of the wooden support beams with two twelve-inch blades on either side of his neck while a third one emerged from between the knuckles on each hand. Marie decided that now would be the best time to leave. She did not want to be witness to what she was sure would be a very messy bar fight. She turned and ran to the door, stopping to look behind her when she heard the unmistakeable sound of a gun being cocked. Turning around, Marie saw the bartender aim a double barrel shotgun at Wolverine's head.

"Get out of my bar, freak!" he warned.

In one swift movement, the blades on one of the Wolverine's hands sliced through the gun like a hot knife through butter. Marie took that moment to race out into the frigid night, desperately searching for somewhere to hide until this whole thing blew over. She was relieved to see a truck parked in the lot with a trailer attached to it covered by a tarp. Marie lifted the tarp and crawled under it. She'd been sitting there for about five minutes or so when the truck started moving. She finally let out a sigh of relief. She hoped it would take her as far away from Laughlin City as possible.

"Ow!" she grunted as the truck suddenly came to a halt, causing her to hit her head on the side of the trailer.

Moments later, the tarp was lifted and Marie felt strong hands lift her up by the arms. She looked up only to find herself staring into the face of Wolverine.

"What the hell?" she protested as he threw her to the cold, wet ground. "Excuse me!"

"Mind telling me what the hell you were doing in my trailer?" he growled.

"I needed a ride," she said simply. "I have no money and no way of getting out of here. Figured you'd take pity on a runaway."

"Well I don't, so get out of here."

"And where am I supposed to go?" she asked as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Don't know," he said over his shoulder as he began walking off toward the truck.

"Don't know or don't care?"

"Pick one," he said as he opened the driver side door.

"I saved your life."

"No you didn't."

"Oh, come on," Marie said. "I'm cold, I'm hungry and I haven't slept in Lord knows how long. At least give me a ride to the next town over. I'll give you all my worldly possessions if I have to."

She held up her duffel bag. Suddenly, Wolverine took it from her hands.

"Get in," he said.

Marie hastily opened the passenger door and climbed into the warm truck. Relief washed over as the vehicle started to move again.

'Yeah, I'm definitely going to New York this time.' Marie thought. 'Or at least some place where everybody isn't related.'

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Four months later

"The institute was founded fifteen years ago by Charles Xavier and his colleague Eric Lehnsherr." The blond woman leading the orientation tour continued on, gesturing in an animated fashion and speaking in a tone better suited to describing the latest exhibits at the local art gallery rather than an old manor house turned boarding school.

Marie did her best not to look bored, but her mind was starting to wander. Hadn't this been in the brochure?

"This year we have a new director of student life, Ms. Stevie Hunter. She's the second human to join our faculty."

Marie zoned out entirely. Yes, this had been pulled straight from the brochure. Now feeling no obligation to listen, she decided to make better use of her time by carefully studying her surroundings. Despite the fact the place looked like your typical prissy private school, her fellow students were anything but. They were a rather diverse group, and not just because of their various nationalities. There was a kid standing to her right that resembled a seven-foot tall rock pile. Every time he moved, it was accompanied by the sound of gravel grinding. Just in front of her, there was a girl with pink hair and butterfly wings whispering back and forth with a red-haired female who had blue skin that resembled fish scales. However, not everyone had an obvious mutation. There was a skinny Asian girl standing off to the side with her arms folded across her chest, clearly not paying any more attention than she had to. She was of average height with short dark hair that hung a couple of inches below her ears. She wore a pink short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, brown boots and a school bus yellow overcoat. She was chomping on her gum rather loudly, occasionally popping it, which drew dirty looks from some of the students as well as the tour guide.

She quickly glanced back at the tour guide as she led them across the courtyard toward the residence hall. As she'd expected, she was still reciting from the brochure. What was the point in printing them if they were going to be repeated verbatim? It was a waste of time, not to mention trees. On top of that, Marie was a bit disappointed. She'd been hoping that Logan would be leading the tour; however Professor Xavier had sent him off on some kind of recruitment thing, so instead she'd ended up with this Emma Frost woman, who was so mind-numbingly boring she could put a cat to sleep.

"Bet her classes are a real riot," muttered Marie.

"Did you say something?" whispered, or rather shouted the rock guy, since his attempt at whispering was akin to a gun going off.

Marie cringed and shot the rock guy a hard look.

"No," she whispered.

"Really? 'Cause I thought I heard…"

"Shut up," Marie hissed, and thankfully he did so.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ms. Frost eyeing them. No doubt labelling them as the school troublemakers. Oh well, Marie wasn't exactly the most well-liked student in any of her old schools anyway, so it didn't make much of a difference what some uppity Barbie doll type thought of her. Besides, the only person in this place she cared about was Logan, since she'd known him the longest and he'd taken pity on her back in Laughlin City.

Someone snickered and Marie turned to look behind her to find an auburn-haired girl pointing at her while whispering to a boy with white hair. Suddenly, a feeling of déjà vu came over her. Had she seen those two before? She wracked her brain trying to remember where she'd seen them, but she couldn't seem to remember meeting them. Yet somehow they looked familiar to her.

"Wanda, Pietro, you two know the grounds already," said Ms. Frost. "Why are you even on the tour?"

"Just looking out for our baby sister," said the boy, jerking his thumb at a green-haired girl who looked as though she were desperately wishing for the ground to swallow her up. "It's a big campus. Wouldn't want Lorna to get lost."

"She is capable of finding her own way around," Ms. Frost responded sternly. "Now if you don't mind, I have a tour to finish. So, if it's not too much to ask, could you two go find something else to occupy yourselves?"

"Fine," Pietro huffed. "Come on Wanda, it's clear we're not wanted here."

He grabbed the girl's hand and they both disappeared in a silvery blur. The green-haired girl looked positively relieved they were gone.

"Right," said Ms. Frost turning back to the group. "We have one more stop on our tour. Let's try to refrain from being rude, okay?"

Marie noticed her shooting looks at herself, the rock guy and the gum chewer. However, the gum chewer didn't seem to notice, or if she had she clearly didn't care, because she went right on popping her gum.

As the tour started up again, Marie looked around the courtyard. Some of the other students were out and about. An Asian girl with blue hair was arguing with a white-haired, pale-skinned girl with fairy wings over by a tree. Marie couldn't hear what they were saying, but it appeared the argument was getting tense as the blue-haired girl looked absolutely pissed. Further away, a group of students were playing a game of Frisbee. Suddenly, a small brown-haired boy tripped and went sprawling onto the ground. As soon as he hit, two more of him appeared out of nowhere.

The procession of new students arrived at the residence hall. According to Ms. Frost, by way of the brochure, it was the original Xavier mansion before the property was converted into a school campus. It certainly looked the part. The residence hall was a stately three-storey building with a stone patio that took up most of the front. A ramp ran up to the immense double doors with stairs on either side, decorated with planters containing a variety of different plants and colourful flowers.

At the top of the ramp were two figures. One was a bald man appearing to be in his mid to late forties in a wheelchair. The other was a tall, imposing white-haired man of indeterminate age. Marie had met both of them before. They were the school's headmasters Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr. Though Xavier seemed friendly and approachable, Marie didn't like Lehnsherr at all. There was something off about him.

Ms. Frost smiled brightly at them and brought the group to a halt just up the stairs.

"Before you all go to your rooms, I want you all to meet the men that made this all possible. Professor Charles Xavier and Dr. Eric Lehnsherr."

"Good afternoon, everyone," Professor Xavier greeted them. "It's good to see you all here, the next generation of young mutants to take part in my dream of a better world for all of us. I understand that not all of you have lived comfortable lives and I understand that some of you have been hurt, exploited or abandoned. But I want you all to know that now that you are a part of this institute, I will personally do everything in my power to not only protect you from those who wish to harm you, but to teach you how to have an active hand in changing our world into one where humans and mutants can live together in peace."

"Indeed," chimed in Dr. Lehnsherr. "In addition to regular school subjects, you will learn to harness your abilities in new ways. Do not think merely possessing the X-Gene makes you homosuperior. That is something that must be earned and it will be determined by how much effort you choose to put into your training and schoolwork."

Professor Xavier chuckled uncomfortably.

"Though we prefer not to use that term," he added. "In any event, welcome to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. We will not hold you up any longer, as I am certain you all want to get to your rooms and unpack."

He wheeled himself to the side so as to allow everyone entry into the building.

"I look forward to getting to know you all better during your stay here, however long it may be."

"Thank you, Professor Xavier, Dr. Lehnsherr," said Ms. Frost. "Come along everyone. Your RA's are just inside with your room assignments."

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AN: Next up, Marie meets her roommate and it doesn't go very well. Also, a small disclaimer here. I got the whole idea for the tour bit came from Soulfulbard's story Xmen REset. A good story, that. Marie and Logan's initial encounter was, of course, inspired by the first X-Men movie.

Also, Logan and Marie's relationship is like that in the Evolution cartoon, a father daughter type of thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Academy M: The Series

AN: Onward and upward! Also, please remember to review.

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Chapter 2: Meet the Roommate

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The meeting with the RA's was thankfully short. It consisted of the usual stuff one would hear at summer camp or anywhere a group of young people slept over. Keep the noise levels down, clean up after yourself, no boys in the rooms and vice versa, no smoking, no drinking, no drugs. No food or drink was allowed in the rooms except for water, and those with certain medical conditions such as diabetes could keep snacks with them. Otherwise, snacks and drinks were usually kept in the small kitchenette on each floor. The two girls' RA's were an attractive redhead who introduced herself as Jean Grey and a tall, full-figured brunette with a British accent by the name of Elizabeth Braddock. Of the two of them, Marie decided that if it came to the point where she really needed help, she would approach Jean first. Elizabeth, or Betsy as she wanted people to call her, seemed a tad snobbish for her liking. But of course, Marie didn't need to worry about that, because she wouldn't need help anyway. And if she was truly desperate, she would rather go find Logan.

After the meeting had ended, the students were assigned their rooms and were led to the back porch of the residence to retrieve their luggage. Luckily, Marie had unpacked everything yesterday so she headed straight to her room.

Marie's dorm room, like all the others, had once served as a guest room. White walls greeted her as she stepped through the door. In the farthest left corner, a neatly made dorm bed with a steel frame rested lengthwise against the far wall. The right corner opposite that contained a tall oak chest of drawers, the top drawers having already been filled with most of Marie's clothing. A window sat next to it on the left, the blue plastic blinds drawn back allowing sunlight to illuminate the room. Another door built into the right wall led into the bathroom.

Another dorm bed sitting lengthwise by the left wall. The foot of the bed was positioned just before the closet, of which one of the sliding glass doors had been left ajar. A long wooden desk designed to seat two people was pushed against the right wall.

But it wasn't the furniture that caught Marie's attention. It was the decoration of that side of the room. Of course, one would have to be blind not to see it.

The comforter and pillow of the neatly made bed were pink and covered in nauseating flowery patterns. The headboard was covered in brightly coloured tissue paper flowers that were attached to the metal bed posts by equally colourful ribbons. Several posters portraying different Disney princesses, Justin Bieber, and various other talentless teen pop tarts that would no doubt crash and burn in a few years time had been tacked up on the wall above the bed.

From where she stood, Marie could see inside the closet through the open door. Several pastel-coloured clothes hung on plastic hangers accompanied by several pairs of shoes neatly arranged on a metal rack. Marie was astounded at the number of shoes this girl had. She counted seven pairs, but she was certain there were more she couldn't see. It was beyond ridiculous. Two, maybe three pairs of shoes were understandable, but this was going too far. She probably didn't even wear half of them anyway.

Next, her eyes landed on the chest of drawers, the top of which had been covered with a white doily, upon which several bottles of sparkly, pastel nail polish rested. Marie then looked over at the double desk situated between the door and the pink, flowery bed. The one half of the desk closest to the door had been left untouched. But the side closest to the bed was occupied by a small, flowery clay pot that contained several glittery gel pens, a vase containing colourful fake flowers and a multi-coloured, flowery notebook. What was the deal with everything having to do with flowers anyway? And why all the bright colours? Marie hadn't been happy about the prospect of sharing a room in the first place, but now she was tempted to march down to Professor Xavier's office and demand her own room, or at least a different roommate. Preferably one that didn't have a fetish for flowers and vomit-inducing colours.

Marie quickly averted her gaze from that side of the room and focused on her luggage, which had been placed at the foot of the bed. She stalked over to a large black suitcase and after popping the steel locks, which there were quite a few of, she began ripping open plastic packages and making her bed. When she had finished, Marie stood back to survey her work.

Unlike the other bed in the room, Marie's was a bit easier on the eyes. The comforter was brown, the sheets and pillow were white and a grey throw blanket was draped over the end of the bed. There were no ridiculous decorations, no bright colours, no flowers. She topped it off with a grey stuffed cat. Sure, she may have been a bit old for stuffed animals, but she had always had a fondness for cats. She was, after all, named after a cat. It was too bad she wouldn't be able to pet one again. Marie didn't know whether or not her powers worked differently on animals, but she wasn't going to take that risk. She had already put three kids in a coma they would likely never recover from.

Marie was about to get started on the next suitcase when the door to her room swung open. A girl stood in the doorway, hazel eyes wide as she stared at Marie. She was petite, brunette with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and looked utterly surprised to see her there.

"Oh my God!" she blurted. "I like, totally wasn't expecting anyone to be here."

Like? Totally? It was worse than Marie had initially thought. Not only did this girl have awful taste in decorations, she was a Valley Girl wannabe. Inwardly sighing, Marie flatly met the other girl's gaze.

"Well, I am your roommate," she said, struggling to keep her tone neutral. "You did know you were getting one, didn't you?"

"Oh, yeah," she chuckled. "I thought you were like, coming later tonight."

Resisting the urge to blatantly mock her, Marie quickly turned her attention back to her luggage. She picked up a smaller grey suitcase and carried it over to the desk. This one was a bit easier to open as it just had a zipper. It was also old, very old. Marie was surprised it hadn't fallen to pieces years ago, as Logan had used it a lot.

"So, um, what's your name?" the girl asked after a brief awkward silence.

"Marie Raven," Marie replied, not even bothering to turn and face the girl.

"Kitty Pryde," the girl said. "Kitty is short for Katherine."

Marie ignored her and began removing various school supplies from her case. A stack of three-ring binders that she neatly arranged on the small shelf above her section of the desk, a pencil case containing a number of pens and pencils that weren't ridiculously bright colours and a blue day planner. Marie decided she would label her binders later. Right now she just wanted to unpack as fast as she could so she could beat a hasty retreat from her room. She honestly didn't think she could handle being around Kitty Pryde much longer. All her likes, totalys, and overall cheeriness was just too much for the other girl.

"Did you dye it?"

"What?"

"Your hair. Did you dye it?"

Kitty gestured toward Marie's long auburn hair which was being held back from her face by a green headband. She had two white streaks in the front of her hair.

"I mean, did you put the streaks in yourself?"

"No," Marie replied tonelessly.

"So they're natural?"

Good God, did this girl not know how to shut up?

"Yes," answered Marie.

"It looks good," Kitty commented.

"Thanks."

"You're also taller than I expected."

Marie quirked an eyebrow at the girl.

"I just meant, that you're like, really tall," said Kitty, her face turning red with embarrassment. "How tall are you?"

"Five nine," Marie replied flatly. "Anything else you wanna know about me? Favourite colour? First word I ever spoke? My bra size?"

Kitty looked taken aback at Marie's response, and she had to admit it was rather satisfying to see the brunette's face turn a deeper shade of red.

"Um," Kitty started to say after yet another awkward silence. "What about your family?"

"What about them?" Marie responded.

"Like, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Again, Marie had to restrain herself from the urge to tease Kitty mercilessly about the way she spoke.

"I don't have a family," she said.

Well, that wasn't necessarily true. She considered Logan to be the closest thing to family she ever had. But she wasn't about to tell Kitty that. It wasn't her business, anyway.

"Everybody has a family," Kitty said.

"Well, I don't," said Marie. "And I would really appreciate it if you dropped the subject."

"Okay," Kitty replied hesitantly. "Do you, like, need any help unpacking?"

"No thank you," Marie said curtly. "But you can tell me which half of the closet is mine."

"How about the right half?" Kitty suggested. "The left half is closer to my bed and I already put my stuff there. But if you really want me to I could move…"

"No, that's fine," Marie cut her off. "You might as well decide which drawers I'm going to get, too."

"Well, uh," Kitty began. "You could, like, take the bottom three drawers if you wanted to. Or we could alternate…"

"I'll just take the top three," said Marie. "Unless you have a problem with that."

"No," Kitty said, seeming somewhat startled by Marie's response. "I'll just move my clothes to the bottom drawers."

Marie inwardly smirked at the stunned expression on Kitty's face. Deep down, Marie knew she had no reason to be cruel and that Kitty was just trying to be friendly. But honestly, the girl annoyed her to no end. It also didn't help that she reminded Marie of certain girls at her old high school that enjoyed making her life miserable, so perhaps this was her way of getting back at them. Childish yes, but Marie had learned early on in life that getting too close to people only resulted in herself or someone else getting hurt. Maybe that was why she could relate to Logan so well. He'd been through some horrible things in his life that resulted from him getting too close to people.

Marie began removing articles of clothing from her suitcase, hanging up her shirts, jackets and sweaters in the closet first while Kitty moved her own clothes to the bottom drawers of the bureau. They were followed by a few pairs of dress pants and nice tops in case she was forced to dress up for some reason. She filled the first two drawers of her section of the bureau with jeans, cargo pants and T-shirts. The third drawer contained her pajamas, socks and underwear. Footwear wasn't really a problem since she only had her combat boots and an extra pair of running shoes. They would go on the floor of the closet underneath her clothes. Then came the ever important toiletries. She decided she would keep them on the bureau for the time being. She didn't really feel comfortable leaving anything of hers in the bathroom. Not even her towels, which she had placed under her bed because she didn't know where else to put them.

When she finally finished, Marie stacked her suitcases in a far corner of her side of the room to keep them out of the way.

"So, uh, we should probably work out a schedule," Kitty said.

"Schedule?" Marie inquired carelessly.

"Like, you know, you get the bathroom for the first fifteen minutes and I get it for the second or however you want to do it."

Marie had to think about that for a few seconds.

"I usually get up around six anyway," she replied. "I'll just shower and get ready then."

"You get up at six?" Kitty asked. "Wow, that's early. You don't have to get up that early, you know. We usually get up at seven-thirty. Breakfast starts at eight and school doesn't start 'til nine."

"I prefer to get up early," Marie said. "That way I have more time to do what I need to do."

"That works," said Kitty. "Well don't worry about trying to be quiet when you get up. I'm a pretty sound sleeper."

"Good to know," said Marie.

And it was then that her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl, reminding her yet again that it had been hours since she'd eaten something. She decided she would go down to the cafeteria to grab some lunch. It would get her out of the room and away from Kitty Pryde, and since it was late in the afternoon, she figured the cafeteria would be quiet and she could finally get some time to herself. Marie strode over to the door and opened it, making sure that she had her key card on her.

"Where are you going?"

Marie glanced back at her roommate over her shoulder.

"Out for a walk," she lied. And before Kitty could say anything else, she closed the door behind her and walked off down the hall.

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As Marie entered through the double doors of the cafeteria, she couldn't help but notice the setup. It looked more like a fancy restaurant than your typical school cafeteria. In the centre of the room were ten polished dark wood tables with eight matching chairs. On either side were booths that could hold around four people. Lighting for the room came from brass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Somewhere in the room a radio was tuned to one of many easy listening stations. She could see a few people seated at booths enjoying a late lunch and conversing with one another.

Walking further in, there was a large rectangular table set up with a stack of trays, plates, utensils, paper napkins and transparent plastic glasses. The food was all arranged in a buffet style, each area divided into different food stations. Marie grabbed a tray, clanked a handful of utensils on top and made her way down the row of stainless steel counters before she found what she wanted. A female server filled her plate with some kind of wrap, some curly fries and cooked carrots. Marie grabbed a soda from one of the refrigerators and proceeded to find a place to sit.

Since all the booths were filled with at least one person she settled at a vacant table. From where she sat, she could see a pair of glass doors at the back of the room that led onto a patio area where more people were gathered at picnic tables, some of which she recognized from the tour.

She had gotten halfway through her meal when she felt like someone was staring at her. Glancing around the room, her eyes landed on a table not too far from hers. Sitting there were Wanda and Pietro from earlier. Both were casting strange looks her way and whispering to the other three mutants seated at the table. There was a tall young man with spiky blond hair, a petite female with long, platinum blond hair and another female with ebony skin, sleek black hair that was pulled back into braids and most noticeably, a pair of veined insect-like wings folded up across her back. Suddenly, they all looked in her direction and Marie quickly focused on her plate of food, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

She continued to eat, trying her best to ignore the stares from the other table. She couldn't help but wonder why they found her so interesting. Suddenly, she felt a presence beside her.

"Hey."

She looked up to see Pietro standing next to her, leaning against the back of one of the chairs. Marie quickly masked the discomfort she felt around these people with an unreadable expression.

"Is there something I can do for you?" she asked, her tone flat.

"We saw you sitting there all by yourself and thought you might need some company," Pietro replied, raking his eyes over Marie's form. She noticed this and shot him a hard look.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Oh, I'm sure you are," Pietro said smoothly. "But a young lady should never sit alone. Come sit at our table."

"Like I said, I'm fine."

Wanda appeared behind Pietro. Marie noticed that one of her hands seemed to by glowing with a strange purplish energy. Suddenly, she reached up and slapped Pietro across the side of the head, the energy around her hand seemingly making the slap sting more than usual.

"Ow! Watch it with the hexing, Wanda!" Pietro yelped.

"Go sit down, Pietro," Wanda said calmly.

"Aw, come on. I'm just trying to be friendly," Pietro said.

"No, you are harassing her," said Wanda. "Now go sit down or I'll hex you into next week."

Pietro gave Wanda a look before disappearing in a silvery blur.

"I apologize for my brother's actions," Wanda said, turning toward Marie. "He's an idiot."

"Yeah, kinda got that," said Marie.

A brief silence passed between them before Wanda spoke up again.

"Look, I know you want to be alone so I won't continuously harass you about it. But, you know, if you feel the need for the company of other mutants, feel free to come sit at our table. I promise to keep Pietro in line."

"I'll think about it," said Marie. "Thanks for the offer."

Wanda smiled.

"Good. You know where to find us."

With that, Wanda walked away. Marie watched her as she returned to her friends. Perhaps she was just being paranoid, but it almost felt like Wanda was a little too friendly.

A prickling sensation running through the skin on her legs told Marie that her legs had fallen asleep, and she rose, walking over to the drop-off window where she left her tray and now empty dishes. She chucked her empty soda can in the blue recycling bin and strode out of the cafeteria.

XXXXXXXX

"Yo, Wanda!"

A hard elbow to the ribs by the winged girl sitting on her left caused the auburn-haired girl to send a menacing glare in her direction.

"Angel, Don't do that," Wanda said in an icy tone.

"Sorry," Angel Salvadore said with an apologetic look on her face. "But you were totally out of it. What were you thinking about anyway?"

"How ridiculous this whole thing is," Wanda replied. "Why is my father so interested in that Lorna girl anyway? I know she's my half-sister, but I wasn't even aware of her existence until six months ago."

"Oo, is somebody jealous? Worried about not being Daddy's favourite anymore?" quipped Pietro from across the table.

An empty tray went flying through the air and whacked him across the head.

"Jesus, Wanda!" cried Pietro as he rubbed his temple. "Was that necessary?"

His only answer were simultaneous death glares from both Angel and Wanda.

"Shut up, Pietro," hissed Wanda.

"Ah, sibling rivalry," said the blond boy in a distinct Australian accent. "Good thing I was an only child."

"Hey Allerdyce, unless you wanna get a face full of acidic spit, you keep your mouth shut, too," warned Angel.

St. John Allerdyce, or John for short, grinned at the winged mutant.

"You know, if your spit weren't acidic, I wouldn't mind swapping it with you."

"Don't be disgusting, John," said the platinum blond who went by the name of Eileen Harsaw.

She then turned toward the other girls.

"Look, Wanda, I wouldn't worry about your dad trying to replace you," she said. "It's probably just a case of him trying to get Lorna to like him. It won't last. And besides, Lorna's a wallflower. She can never be one of us."

Wanda smiled at her friend's words.

"Thanks," she said. "I really hope that's the case. I'm tired of hearing about Lorna and what a wonderful addition she'd make to the Acolytes. She's more likely to follow Xavier in his worship of the humans than my father anyway."

"What about the other girl?" Angel asked. "The vampire?"

"She's a vampire?" John asked, his full attention now on the conversation. "Wow, I think I've just found my dream girl."

"She's not a vampire in the traditional sense," replied Eileen, who couldn't help but smile at John's comment. "She can absorb another person's life force just by touching them."

"Well either way, she's still hot," said John.

"Kinda hard to date someone if you can't touch them," said Pietro. "I mean, you wouldn't even be able to make out with her."

John grinned.

"Don't have to. I'll just get her to send me naked photos of herself."

"Ugh, I had enough of these two," said Angel, pushing her chair back and standing up. "Who's up for a dip in the lake?"

"Sounds good to me," said Eileen. "I could use a cooling off."

"You may want to reschedule," came the deep, ominous voice of Eric Lehnsherr. "Something has come up. I need to see all of you in my office immediately."

XXXXXXXX

AN: Next up, Marie starts her first day of classes and things don't go as she hoped. Kitty is sort of based on her character in the Evolution cartoon. Also, Kitty's comment about alternating drawers was something I saw in another story somewhere on the Internets.

Please remember to review.


	3. Chapter 3

Academy M: The Series

AN: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Very much appreciated.

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Chapter 3: Conversations

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The last rays of sun shone down, turning the grungy street a shade of deep red. The fading light glimmered off broken glass, mostly from discarded beer bottles, some from busted headlights of vehicles abandoned long ago, and almost made the sidewalk look like it was on fire. Almost made it pretty, only because it took one's eye off the mountain of cans, plastic bags, used condoms and other bits of trash.

It didn't hide the smell though, which was a mixture of cheap alcohol, urine, vomit and unwashed human beings. It was enough to make newcomers retch and run the other way. But she wasn't a newcomer and she couldn't leave. Not now, in prime business hours.

She stood near the street corner, back pressed against a rusted lamp. It didn't work anymore, with the bulb shattered, tiny fragments scattered on the cement walkway. It pressed up into the thin soles of her shoes, but she ignored the stabs of pain. It was part of the job, after all. A high pain tolerance was one of the requirements.

Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, bangs falling over her face, hiding her recent black eye among other bruises. The low-cut shirt she wore revealed a considerable amount of cleavage and her skirt, if one could call it that, was more like a pair of briefs than anything else. But who cared about decency back here? That wasn't what got you money.

Just then, a cherry red car slid up to the edge of the curb. And like she'd done every night for the past year, she plastered a smile onto her face, even though a part of her was screaming at her to not do this. But she had to. She had no choice. How else was she going to keep herself from starving to death?

Whoever was in the passenger side rolled down the window, and for a brief moment she felt panic brew in her chest. Groups were never fun for her, and were rarely safe. They paid well though, and she forced herself to keep that in mind as she sauntered over to the vehicle. Vaguely, she noted that whoever was in the car must not have been from around these parts. Locals knew better than to roll their windows down all the way. Not until they made sure it was a hooker, and not some crack head looking for a fix.

Still, she used this to her advantage. Bending down, she draped both arms onto the edge of the window, hands dangling inside the car.

"You want somethin', honey?" she drawled, taking in the car's passengers.

She had to admit she liked what she saw. Two men, probably in their thirties, sat in the front. One was quite tall, well built with short blond hair. The other was rougher looking with longish brown hair and a piercing in one ear.

"My friend here just broke up with his girlfriend," said the brunette. "You know how it is."

She nodded.

"Yeah, I do," she said. "What do you want?"

"Why don't you get in the car and we'll discuss it."

She inwardly sighed. She knew what that meant. They were into some freaky stuff. But it was too late to go back. And besides, she really needed the money. So she climbed into the back of the car, even though she couldn't help but feel that something was not quite right.

XXXXXXXX

"Are we an item? Girl, quit playin'  
"We're just friends," what are you sayin'?  
Said "there's another," and looked right in my eyes  
My first love broke my heart for the first time

And I was like baby, baby, baby, oh  
Like baby, baby, baby, no  
Like baby, baby, baby, oh…"

An irritated scoff escaped Marie's lips as her eyes snapped open. It was bad enough she hardly slept last night, and what little sleep she did get was haunted by strange dreams, but now she was woken up by one of the world's most annoying songs.

"…I thought you'd always be mine, mine

Baby, baby, baby, oh  
Like baby, baby, baby, no  
Like baby, baby, baby, oh  
I thought you'd always be mine, mine…"

Shoving her comforter away, Marie stood and switched off the radio alarm clock. Doing so, she looked over at Kitty's bed to see if she'd been awakened by the alarm. No doubt this was the kind of garbage she listened to on a daily basis.

She was relieved to see that her roommate was still fast asleep. At least, she assumed so. All she could see was a large lump under the flowery duvet. Stalking over to the closet, Marie quickly changed into a long cotton bathrobe of light weight terrycloth, tossing her pajamas over her desk chair as she walked passed it, slid her feet into her running shoes, and grabbed her toiletries, proceeding out to the shower room at the end of the hall. She hardly noticed the college-style setup of the room as she went to the nearest shower stall, hung her robe on the hook outside, and slid the curtain closed, turning the metal handle until the water was warm enough. But she didn't feel much better. Even the comforting smell of her collection of shampoo, conditioner, bodywash and soap, scented with a blend of strawberries, grapefruit and vanilla, didn't calm her distressed state. Lastnights dream must have been one hell of a nightmare. She couldn't remember any of it though, but that was not unusual. Most of the nightmares she had were unpleasant memories of the people she absorbed. But they always went away in the morning, and she'd forget about them until she had the same nightmare again.

But this one left her with a feeling of dread. Something was very wrong here.

Then again, this could all be caused by stress. She was, after all, at a school where she didn't know anyone, no one knew her and she felt even more alienated from everyone around her. On top of that, classes started today and she had no idea what was in store for her.

After spending ten minutes in the shower, she turned off the water and stepped out of the stall, drying herself off with a towel and then slipping back into her bathrobe and shoes. She would eventually have to buy slippers or something like that for the shower, but for now these shoes worked fine. Gathering up her things, she hurried out of the shower room and back to her dorm.

She dressed in a pair of black jeans, a green T-shirt with a thin green sweater over top, and then went into the tiny bathroom to make sure she was somewhat presentable. Standing in front of the mirror, she ran her brush through her hair several times before tying it back into a ponytail with a white elastic band. Marie was never one for makeup, but she did paint her nails once in a while. And since this was her first official day at the Xavier Institute, she figured she would give her nails a nice coat of dark purple polish. She had barely finished one hand when a knock sounded upon the bathroom door.

"Marie," Kitty called through the door. "I'm going to take a shower, okay?"

'I don't care.' Marie thought.

"I'll be back in like, five minutes," Kitty continued.

'I still don't care.'

However, her lack of response seemed to only encourage Kitty. She banged on the door with more force.

"Marie!" she shouted.

Marie unclenched her teeth, using every ounce of strength she had to restrain herself from spitting out every curse word known to mankind.

"Yes," she called back, the irritation in her voice quite obvious.

"I said I'm going…"

"I heard you the first time," Marie cut her off. "You don't need my permission to take a shower. Just go."

With that, Kitty left their dorm.

When Marie had completed the usual morning routine of getting ready for school, she left the bathroom, intending on going to breakfast early so she could avoid her roommate. Snatching up her key card, class time table, her backpack which contained the school supplies she would need and her iPod, because that was always good to have in situations where she'd likely be forced to make small talk with other people, then strode briskly out the door.

XXXXXXXX

By the time she reached the cafeteria, she was beginning to think that maybe the day wouldn't be so terrible. The feelings of dread left by her recent nightmare and her annoyance over Kitty Pryde quickly faded away as soon as she inhaled the scents of sizzling bacon and freshly brewed coffee. She walked over to the serving area, deciding to grab something to eat before the line got too long. Once she got her plate, she found herself looking at an array of breakfast foods.

Skipping the bagels and breads, she selected a bowl of chopped fruit instead. Then she served herself scrambled eggs, a few strips of bacon, a couple of hash browns and a cup of yogurt. Lastly, she tossed a small carton of orange juice onto her tray.

"You eat a lot for a girl," came an unfamiliar voice from behind her.

"I beg your pardon?" she said, turning to face the source of the voice.

It belonged to a blond-haired teenaged boy with gold skin. When he saw the hard stare she was giving him, he looked slightly embarrassed.

"I didn't mean it as an insult," he said quickly. "I just meant…"

He paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to finish off that sentence.

"I just meant I've never seen a girl eat that much food," he continued. "At least, not the girls I know."

Okay, that was odd. But Marie figured he was just trying to start a conversation. As much as she hoped nobody would pay much attention to her and leave her be, she knew that it wouldn't be possible. She couldn't avoid these people forever. She would have to interact with them eventually, especially when it came to group work in class. So she responded in the only way she knew how.

"Well, putting up with this school is going to take a lot of energy," she said with a shrug, thinking of Kitty Pryde, Pietro and Ms. Frost as she spoke those words.

"No kidding," the boy replied. "I've only been here for three weeks, and I've learned more about the Xavier Institute than I cared to. I'm Josh Folley, by the way."

"Marie Raven," Marie replied.

"You wanna sit with me?"

Marie was slightly taken aback at the question. She honestly hadn't expected this. Usually, people made sure to keep as far away from her as possible. Well, except for Kitty, but she didn't really count. She was tempted to say no, but a quick glance around the cafeteria told her that there was no way she was going to be able to find an empty table, since every table was occupied by at least one person. And, truth be told, she kind of needed to know which teachers to watch out for.

"Okay," Marie replied.

Josh smiled.

"Great. I'll introduce you to my friends, if you want."

Marie said nothing as she followed the golden-skinned boy through the aisles, navigating between tables and doing her best to avoid contact with people, a difficult task considering the place was packed with students. Eventually, they arrived at a table near the doors that led out to the picnic area. There were already three people sitting there, and as she settled into her chair, Marie took the opportunity to study them carefully.

The first was a girl who was tall for her age, roughly around the same height she was, but she was also rather lanky with a slim figure. Her neatly trimmed, bright red hair fell to her shoulders and she was dressed in a plain T-shirt, blue jeans and sandals. But that was not what drew Marie's attention.

Firstly, her skin was silver. No, Marie corrected herself, it was much more than that. Her skin had a very watery appearance, like it wasn't completely solid. Marie also noticed a few odd features about her face. She had no eyes, at least in the traditional sense. Oh, there were eye-like features on her face, but she had no pupils to speak of, and the eyes were the same colour as her skin. There were also two line-shaped indentations going down the sides of her face, though the indentations seemed very shallow. The lines stopped at the eyes, but otherwise passed straight through from her chin to her hair.

The next person was very strange-looking too, although his oddities weren't as noticeable. For the most part, anyway. He was very, very tall, well over six feet. Like the red-haired girl, he was quite lanky with a slim build. He had long blond hair equal in length to the girl's, which was held back from his face by a rubber band. His skin was so white it looked unnatural, making Marie think of the Borg from Star Trek, only without the implants. His eyes, although they looked relatively normal with long eyelashes and pupils, but there was something funny about them. They were a dull grey and had a glassy look to them. He wore a red shirt, the sleeves coming down to his elbows, black jeans and heavy combat boots.

Finally, Marie noticed the third person, but that was only because he chose that moment to speak.

"Hey, Folley. Who's your girlfriend?"

His voice carried the familiar Cajun drawl Marie had heard a lot of while in New Orleans on a class trip with her old school. He too was tall and slender, with messy brown hair and, Marie noticed, strange eyes as well, black with red irises. There seemed to be a kind of smug amusement behind them. He wore a tight maroon shirt and black jeans, and was currently shuffling through a deck of cards.

"Guys, this is Marie," Josh introduced her, and Marie suddenly felt a bit anxious. "I ran into her in the serving area and I thought I'd invite her to come sit with us."

"So, it's safe to assume she's not your girlfriend?" said the Cajun boy, and Marie thought she had seen him look over in her direction.

"Take it easy, Remy," said Josh. "She's new here. Don't scare her off, okay?"

Josh turned toward Marie.

"That's Remy LeBeau," he said pointing to the Cajun. "He's a huge flirt, but he's harmless. Just tell him to fuck off if he starts to get too close to you."

"Joshua Folley," said Remy with a mock horrified expression. "You should never use such language in the presence of a lady."

"Fuck off, Remy," said the red-haired girl, a grin playing across her silvery lips.

Marie couldn't help but smile at that.

"And that's Cessily Kincaid," said Josh, gesturing to the girl.

"Nice to meet you," Cessily said cheerfully.

"You too," Marie responded, doing her best to push away the sudden panic that flooded through her.

"And last but not least, Mr. Vegard Morch," said Josh as he pointed to the boy with the Borg skin.

"Warlock," the boy said, his voice strangely cold and thick with an accent Marie didn't recognize.

"Oh, come on," said Cessily. "You're not doing the whole codename as your mutant name thing, are you?"

"Why not?" said Vegard. "I'm not human anymore. So what would be the point in using my human name? And Remy calls himself Gambit, so I believe I have the right to use my codename."

"Yeah, but people have been calling me Gambit since I was a kid," Remy said. "So that doesn't count."

"And we don't call him that all the time," added Cessily. "Usually during training or when we're plotting devious pranks."

"I still think it's pointless."

Cessily let out an exasperated sigh.

"God, you're starting to sound like Magneto. Maybe you should go join his Acolytes."

"Magneto?" Marie echoed the other girl. "What's a Magneto?"

"Dr. Lehnsherr believes that mutants are superior to humans, and should abandon their birth name for a mutant alias," replied Vegard. "I don't share his beliefs, but I don't see myself as human either."

"You're just as human as the rest of us," said Josh. "Sure, we have awesome powers, but we're no different from any Joe Schmo you'd see walking down the street."

"And besides, I like your name," put in Cessily. "Norwegian names are cool."

"Your logic is flawed, but I'm not going to argue with you," Vegard said.

"Whatever you say, Seven of Nine," joked Remy.

Vegard gave the other boy a strange look.

"Seven of Nine is female. That hardly describes me."

"Well we were going to call you Spok, but Jean-Paul Beaubier already has that title," said Josh. "Besides, you have her personality."

"So, Marie, what class do you have first?" Cessily asked, clearly wanting to change the subject. Although Marie had to admit, she found the conversation rather amusing.

Marie pulled out her schedule from where it was safely tucked in one of the smaller pockets on her backpack.

"History, with Ms. Neramani," she replied.

Cessily smiled.

"Awesome! We have the same first period class. Maybe we can walk to class together?"

"Um, okay," Marie said, unsure of what to make of all this. However, she had to admit that deep down; she was flattered that people were making the effort to be friends with her, and not in a completely annoying way like a certain roommate of hers.

"Are you a Star Trek fan, Marie?" asked Josh.

"Yeah, I would say so," said Marie. "I've watched everything from the original series to Enterprise. Well, the first season of Enterprise anyway. Frankly, I thought it sucked."

Josh nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, out of the whole Star Trek franchise, I think Enterprise was the worst," said Josh. "I thought the characters were kind of… underdeveloped."

He paused for a few seconds before continuing to speak.

"Anyway, we're having a TNG marathon in the common room tonight. Would you be interested in joining us?"

"Sure," Marie answered.

If it got her away from her roommate, she'd go on a ditch digging mission.

"Well," Cessily said, pushing back her chair and standing. "I think I'll go to class. You coming, Marie?"

"We still have a few minutes," said Josh as he glanced at his watch.

"Ms. Neramani doesn't like people showing up late to class," Cessily replied. "And besides, we need to find our lockers."

"Okay," said Josh. "Will I be seeing you at lunch?"

This question was directed toward Marie, but Cessily chose to answer.

"Of course," said Cessily.

"If she's gonna be sitting with us again, I'm definitely coming back," said Remy, gesturing toward Marie.

And she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. She really hoped that if he absolutely had to flirt with her, he would do it from a safe distance. Not because she could accidentally put him in a coma, but she might be tempted to give him a nice black eye.

"I'll see you guys later," said Cessily, turning and heading for the exit.

Marie followed the other girl, leaving her empty dishes at the drop-off area before heading out the door.

XXXXXXXX

AN: I know I said Marie would be starting classes in this chapter, but as I was writing this, I thought I would give Marie a few friends. Warlock is not an OC, but my own twisted version of the character. He is nothing like the sweet little alien in the comics, however he does share similar abilities. You'll find out more about him later on. Also, I stole his name from a relative of some random character on some random RPG somewhere on the Internets.

I mean no offense to Enterprise and its fans. I didn't like the show personally, but I have to admit there were a few episodes I found interesting.

And for those who don't know, TNG stands for The Next Generation.

Next up, classes begin and we find out what happened to Logan.


	4. Chapter 4

Academy M: The Series

AN: Sorry about the weird text thing in the third chapter. I don't know what happened there, but I think I fixed it.

XXXXXXXX

Chapter 4: School Days

XXXXXXXX

Marie and Cessily entered the academic building through the automatic double doors, walking into an open lobby-like area. The gleaming white walls stood out in contrast to the dark mahogany accents and ceiling, and a tall stone fountain stood in the centre of the room, the sound of the small waterfall underneath it echoing through the lobby. Windows with blue silk curtains were perched high on the walls to allow a considerable amount of sunlight into the building, eliminating the need for bright fluorescent lights.

On the right side of the room, a thick, plush carpet lined the floor where a pretty blond woman in her early twenties sat working at an ornamental, carved desk.

Cessily waved to her as they walked passed, and she returned it with one of her own.

"Have a good day at school, ladies," she called out.

"Thanks," Cessily called back.

XXXXXXXX

The deeper they wandered into the building, the more it reminded Marie of a castle, with its seemingly endless passageways and doors that led to God only knew where. They had started out by walking down the hall, out of the lobby, then turning right before walking up a staircase. A few left and right turns later, Marie had no idea where they were or how they had gotten there, and was beginning to wonder if Cessily had gotten them lost somehow. Finally, Cessily stopped at a classroom, pushed open the door and allowed Marie to enter first. It was a typical classroom with large maps along the walls accompanied by posters of historical events, desks lined up in rows and a large rectangular table at the back of the room with a television sitting on top of it.

The teacher stood at the front of the room, manicured hands resting on the desk. Marie noticed the woman, despite being in her thirties, seemed to attract some attention from a few of the male students, and she could see why. The woman was quite beautiful, tall and skinny with long, silky black hair held back from her face by several clips and glacier blue eyes.

Cessily led Marie over to the teacher's desk, and they stood there, unsure about what else to do. Ms. Neramani seemed to be busy with something, so they waited until she saw them first.

"May I help you with something?"

She sounded pleasant, but Marie couldn't help but feel that something was off about her. Suddenly, the woman turned her gaze on Marie, and she took a few steps back. The way she was staring at her made her more than uncomfortable.

"Um, is there anywhere you'd like us to sit?" Cessily asked, not seeming to notice Marie's sudden discomfort.

Ms. Neramani had to think about it for a moment, glancing around the room as she did so.

"You two can take a seat at the back of the classroom," she answered, jabbing a finger at two empty desks.

As the girls sauntered down the aisle toward their desks, Ms. Neramani started addressing the class.

"Good morning, students," she said. "As you probably know, my name is Ms. Lilandra Neramani, and I teach history and world issues, if you ever decide to take that course next year. You may address me as Ms. Neramani, nothing more. Before we get started, I'm going to pass around the attendance book. Please be sure to sign it. If I don't see your name, I'll assume you're not here, and I'll have to mark you as absent."

The rest of the class passed uneventfully. Ms. Neramani lectured while Marie copied down notes. When the bell rang, Marie proceeded out the door with the rest of the class.

"What's your next class?" Cessily asked once they were out in the hall.

"Biology," Marie replied.

"Okay, I have Spanish now, but I can direct you to the biology room. Just go to the end of this hall, make a right and keep going until you get to the last door on the left. It's marked "Biology", so you can't miss it."

"Thanks," Marie said.

"You're welcome," said Cessily. "See you at lunch?"

Marie nodded.

"Sure."

And with that, the girls went their separate ways.

XXXXXXXX

Upon entering the biology classroom, the first thing she noticed was the teacher. He was strange-looking, to say the least. He was fairly tall with massive hands that had to be twice the size of her own, ape-like features and covered in blue fur. At the moment, he was sitting behind his desk reading through some papers scattered across its surface, but as Marie neared the desk, he stood up from his swivel chair.

"Ah, good morning, Miss Raven," he greeted her with a friendly smile that revealed elongated teeth. "I don't believe we've officially met. I'm Dr. Hank McCoy."

"Hi," Marie responded, not really sure what to say.

"We won't be doing a whole lot today, since this is the first class," Hank continued. "I'm just going to hand out some notes and give you a chance to choose your lab partner."

He handed Marie a stack of papers.

"This is just the course outline, your lab worksheets, the form for your lab report and the marking rubric."

Marie thanked him as she took the papers from his hand, walked over to a small table where the hole punch and stapler sat, punching a few holes in the papers before taking a seat at the nearest empty table, taking a binder labelled "Biology" out of her backpack and putting her notes inside it.

As students trickled into the classroom, Marie studied her surroundings. The biology room was larger than the history room. On the right half were a dozen small rectangular tables, with only enough space for two students to sit side by side. The left half of the room was lined with counters, and occupied by six square tables with sinks in between each two.

Like history class, biology passed by pretty quickly. The class was surprisingly enjoyable. Mr. McCoy certainly knew how to make a class fun, even if it was just reading out notes and going over how the lab reports were to be written. They were finally given a chance to pick their lab partners in the last five minutes of class. Luckily for Marie, there was an odd number of students, so Mr. McCoy give her the option of working in a team of three or working by herself. Marie chose the latter, since she felt she did better when allowed to work independently.

Despite striding into the room only seconds before the bell rang due to making a wrong turn, her next class, trigonometry, was simple enough. Mr. Jeffries introduced and demonstrated the methods on the smart board, then allowed the class to work on a few exercises from the textbook. Marie had no problems with math, although that was because one of her former classmates from her old school she had absorbed just so happened to be president of the math club. She felt a twinge of sadness at the memory, but quickly pushed it away. She couldn't dwell on the past anymore. What was done was done.

And yet, her past always came back to haunt her in her dreams. She was sure the nightmare she'd had was a memory from someone she'd absorbed. And judging by the unpleasant feelings the dream left behind, that person's life must have been truly awful. Now if only she could remember who it was. As much as she loved mystery novels, she certainly didn't want to live one.

XXXXXXXX

"So, did you meet anyone cool?" Josh asked with a lazy smile as Marie sat down between him and Cessily with her tray.

"No one as cool as us, of course," Remy interjected.

"No," Marie replied. "Kinda kept to myself."

"I think I met the Xavier Institute's newest mean girl," said Cessily.

"Wanda Maximoff?" asked Josh.

Cessily shook her head.

"She's been here for a few years," said Cessily. "This girl just moved in a few days ago before everyone else. And besides, Wanda's not mean all the time."

"She's only nice when she wants something from you," said Remy stabbing a piece of macaroni with his fork.

"I guess that's why she was friendly with me yesterday," put in Marie. "I think she tried to get me to join her crew or something."

Remy's smile faded, his expression growing serious.

"You best stay away from those people," Remy warned her.

"Why? Not that I was planning to make friends with them or anything?"

"Let's just say they're pretty infamous around here," Remy replied. "I'm sure you're gonna find out why in no time."

"Well, it wasn't Wanda," said Cessily. "She had butterfly wings."

Josh looked surprised.

"You mean Megan?" he asked. "Because she was super nice to me."

"No, not her," said Cessily. "This girl has blond hair. What was her name… Lucy something. That's her over there."

Cessily jabbed a finger over at another table and Marie looked in that direction. Indeed, a blond-haired girl with a pair of butterfly wings folded up across her back was conversing with Betsy Braddock about something, and it was clearly a joke of sorts, because they were laughing. She also managed to get a glimpse of Wanda Maximoff, and could have sworn she was staring at her.

"What did she do to you?" asked Josh.

"She was just really rude," replied Cessily. "And she kept giving me dirty looks through chemistry."

"Hey, anyone know where Borg boy is?" Remy asked, looking over at the empty seat where Vegard normally sat.

"I'm assuming he's in the library," replied Josh. "Apparently he's taking quite a few advanced classes this year."

"He wants to be near that Russian chick," said Cessily. "What's her name again?"

"Elena Ivanova," said Remy. "And every guy wants to be near her, myself included."

Both Marie and Cessily shot Remy hard looks.

"Well, come on," said Remy. "She's an attractive female."

"She's an ice cold bitch," said Cessily. "Come to think of it, they would make a perfect pair. Neither of them possess any kind of human emotions."

The lunch period passed in a blur of conversation, which Marie had no problem being part of. Truth be told, it felt kind of good to be a part of a group for once. Although she was certain it wouldn't last very long if and when they found out what she was capable of. But she wouldn't think about that now. She would just enjoy their company.

XXXXXXXX

The afternoon passed just as quickly as the morning. After lunch, Marie had English with Ms. Annie Ghazikhanian, a pretty dark-haired woman that seemed to draw attention from most of the males. Then she had Environmental Studies with Ms. Ororo Munroe, a tall, shapely dark-skinned woman with hair the colour of freshly fallen snow, and Marie had to wonder why all the female teachers she'd seen so far looked like they stepped off a magazine cover.

When Marie walked into the girls' locker room to change clothes for gym class, a combination of dread, apprehension and anticipation twisted in her stomach. She never liked gym. She may have had an athletic figure, but an athlete she was not. She spotted Kitty across the room, dressing in her athletic uniform, and struggling to pull her shirt over her head. Marie rolled her eyes and walked over to her locker, resisting the urge to tell Kitty that maybe undoing the buttons on her blouse would make it easier to take off.

The gym looked like the typical school gym. Polished hardwood floors, fitness mats, weight training and gymnastic equipment along the walls, and a door that opened into what she assumed to be the pool area. The students had assembled in the centre of the room. The teacher had not shown up yet, and Marie couldn't help but be curious as to who it was. Josh had told her earlier that they were expecting a new gym teacher, since the old one took off.

Suddenly, someone waving at her caught her eye, and she saw Remy standing a little distance away. He was standing with a group of people she didn't recognize. There was one boy who, like Hank McCoy, was covered head to toe in blue fur. He had pointed ears, a long, pointed tail, and three fingers on his hands, each one as thick as a sausage. The next one that caught her attention did so because he towered over everyone else, even Remy, who stood around six feet tall himself. This boy was well built and looked like he either worked out a lot or lived on a farm. He had short black hair that had been slicked back and blue eyes. The girl that stood behind him was of Native-American heritage, her long dark hair bound into a loose knot at the back of her head. Marie wandered over to join the group.

"Nice of you to join us, Marie," grinned Remy. "I want you to meet Kurt Wagner -"He gestured to the blue-furred boy, "Peter Rasputin -"he turned toward the much taller boy, "– and Danielle Moonstar," he finished, turning to the girl.

"Nice to meet you," said Danielle. "I've seen you around, but I never got the chance to say hi."

"Very pleased to meet you," said Kurt in a strong German accent.

He offered a hand to her, and Marie took it in her own gloved one and gave it a quick shake.

"So, what are we doing in class today?" asked Marie.

Remy shook his head.

"Not sure," he replied. "We're supposed to be getting a new teacher, that's all I know."

Suddenly, a hush fell over the students as the doors opened, and Marie saw someone she never expected.

"Logan?" she whispered as the man strode into the room.

"You know him?" whispered Remy.

"He kind of brought me here," Marie replied. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

"Okay, people," he barked, his voice reverberating through the room. "Grab a sparring partner. We're gonna practice basic hand to hand combat."

As Marie watched, the students paired up and selected gym mats. She was beginning to think that perhaps dodge ball would have been better.

Amidst the chatter through the room, Marie heard footsteps approaching her from behind. She turned to find Logan looking at her, his expression unreadable.

"Got a partner?" he asked.

Marie quickly glanced at the group she was standing with and saw that most of them had already paired up.

"No," she replied.

There was a short silence as Logan looked around the room.

"Well, there's the Pryde girl," he said, gesturing to Kitty who was wandering around the room, apparently looking for a sparring partner.

"Not her," Marie said. "It would be an unfair fight. I have a lot more experience than she does. And anyway, she'd end up in the hospital before the end of class."

Logan grinned.

"She don't look like a fighter, anyway," he said. "How about Drake?"

He pointed to a brown-haired boy across the room.

"Sure," Marie walked off to join this Drake character.

However, he seemed less than impressed when he saw her come toward her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm your sparring partner," Marie informed him coolly.

"Wouldn't you be better off partnering up with another girl?" he asked condescendingly. "I mean, I don't wanna have to slow down for you."

Marie didn't know how to respond to that, except by socking him hard across the face. Of course, she would no doubt get in trouble for doing so, so she found herself gritting her teeth.

"Well, if you have a problem with having me as a partner, go talk to him about it," said Marie, jabbing a finger in Logan's direction.

The boy looked over at Logan, and… wait… was that fear in his eyes? Marie inwardly smirked at the horrified look on the boy's face.

"Uh, no," he said quickly. "I'm fine. Let's just get this over with."

Marie stepped onto the mat, adopting a fighting stance. She turned her body to the side and kept one leg back, knees bent forward slightly, hands curled into fists, one at eye level and the other positioned lower to block any punches, with her eyes on the boy.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said with an irritated sigh. "Just go already."

Marie took a few seconds to concentrate on some of the things Logan had taught her, then the world seemed to blur momentarily before her eyes, and she felt her fist connect with a solid object. In an instant, everything returned to normal, and she blinked, still standing on the blue athletic mat. Her opponent lay a few feet away, a huge bruise forming on the left side of his face.

'Oh, shit.' Marie thought, slowly beginning to realize what she'd done. It appeared that while she was trying to remember some of the moves Logan had taught her while they sparred; she had accidentally channeled his strength.

"Bobby, are you okay?" one girl asked as she and a few other students crowded around him.

The rest of the class had stopped what they were doing and stared at her, whispering amongst themselves. Marie suddenly wished a falling satellite would land on top of the school, just so it would distract everyone else and she could slip out to her room without being noticed.

"Okay, what's the problem here?" Logan demanded, scowling as he strode over to where the small group of students were gathered around Bobby.

"She knocked him out cold," said a boy, gesturing toward Marie.

"I didn't do it on purpose," Marie called back.

"Step back," Logan demanded.

The students did as they were told, and Logan began to examine Bobby. Marie noticed she was getting a few dirty looks from what she assumed to be his friends. She was tempted to say something, but thought better of it. She really wasn't in the mood for confrontations at the moment.

"He's out," said Logan. "Rasputin, take him down to the infirmary."

Peter walked over and lifted him up and began carrying him out of the gym.

"Would you mind if I went with him?" Marie asked Logan, pointing to the group. "I kinda feel bad."

She truly felt guilty for knocking him unconscious. Sure, the guy had been a jerk to her, but he hadn't deserved to be punched out like that, even if it had been unintentional.

"Sure," he said. "After yer done with him, Chuck needs to see both of us in his office."

"Okay," Marie said, wondering why Professor Xavier needed to see her and if it had anything to do with what happened to Bobby.

However, she could ask questions later. She hurried over to join Peter as he carried Bobby into the hallway.

XXXXXXXX

Exiting the academic building, they took a left down a path toward a large, brown brick building with a sign on the door that read "Infirmary." Though he'd been fairly quiet, Peter didn't seem to mind her company, even asking her a question or two. Though his size was rather imposing, he was soft spoken, and despite his thick Russian accent, spoke almost perfect English.

On their way down the path, they came across another student, a fairly attractive girl with short blond hair.

"Whoa, Pete," she stared at the unconscious Bobby. "What happened to him?"

"Sparring accident," Peter replied simply. "How are you, Tabitha?"

"I'm supposed to be getting back to Mr. Proudstar's class, but on my way back I overheard Ms. Munroe talking to Mr. McCoy," Tabitha said. "Apparently, someone broke into Xavier's office last night and stole some important documents."

Marie's stomach dropped. Was that what Xavier wanted to see her about? Did he think she did it?

"Lehnsherr's on the warpath, so hope you guys have an alibi," Tabitha grinned and waved, and the two parties went their separate ways.

The infirmary was a wide room with gleaming white walls, the sharp scent of antiseptic making Marie almost sneeze as she stepped inside. On the right, a bunch of chairs sat in a row against the wall. On the left was a desk typically found in any hospital. Beyond that was a brief corridor with several doors on each side.

Sitting behind the desk was a middle-aged woman with long brown hair tied up into a bun. She wore a white lab coat over her clothing and a pair of glasses. As soon as she saw them, she stood up.

"Oh dear. Logan's first day of teaching and there's already been an accident," she spoke in a distinct Scottish accent.

She strode toward them.

"You can just lay him down in the first room there," she addressed Peter, gesturing to one of the doors.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Marie asked.

The woman turned toward her and smiled.

"It's all right, love; I've got it from here."

She then walked off toward the room, Peter trailing behind her. Marie was about to turn and leave when she thought she saw something shoot passed her. She blinked, and tried to see it again. Then she shook her head. It was probably nothing.

However, as she made her way back up the path, she couldn't help feeling like she was being watched. She stopped, and looked around, but she couldn't see anyone.

'You're being paranoid.' She thought. 'There's no one there.'

And suddenly, before Marie could even process what was going on, she felt two small hands grab hold of her exposed neck, followed by the familiar pulling sensation she felt every time she absorbed someone.

Screams echoed through the empty courtyard as both Marie and the other person collapsed to the ground.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Oo, a cliffhanger! Who attacked Marie? Who broke into Xavier's office? Stay tuned for the next chapter.

I know Bobby was kind of a jerk here. He's going to be even more of a jerk when he wakes up. Also, Lucy Priest AKA blond girl with butterfly wings was actually a student at Xavier's, but she just appeared in the background. She was the one that was making fun of Angel and Beak.


End file.
